The Grace of Lydia

In today's episode, we will discuss the attribute and qualities of Lydia. Lydia's faithfulness and obedience helped her family and allowed her to be a great example of the true meaning to be a servant of God.  

💖Highlights💖

-  Have high standards for yourself and your household

-  Meet people where they are

- The gift of hospitality opens up blessings to you and your household

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Transcript

The Grace of Lydia

Betty 00:01

Hello Queens. Welcome to SheSpeaksLove Women of the Bible Series. When SheSpeaks her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. Proverbs 31:26. We're so excited to share these incredible women of the Bible and highlight their personal story and their legacy. These podcasts will encourage, inspire, and share wisdom from God's word as it relates to women and our unique circumstances.

Let's get into their phenomenal story and the power of their voice. Today's woman of the Bible is Lydia, presented by Queen Lynn.

Lynn 00:55

Lydia's story is in the book of Acts Chapter 16 verses 13, 14, 15, and then it jumps to 40. So there were more females in the body other than the ladies that we're talking about.

So I wanna tell you a little bit, you know, what did Lydia do or not do? To be able to get her name in print in black and white to make the list, to make the cut. Cause there were some ladies out there. So we not just start about Lydia, we're gonna talk about how she came to be and she came to be because and I'm gonna start with Paul.

Paul was traveling, doing ministry, and Paul came to a city and I cannot properly pronounce it, so I'm gonna spell it and then do my best way of pronouncing it, but you guys will have the correct spelling. So Paul was traveling and then, so Paul traveled to a city called Lystra that's where Paul ran into Timothy. So Paul is ministering and Timothy is ministering, and they kinda connected. Looked at Paul, looked at Timothy. Timothy looked at Paul and Paul said about that man, and said, Well, I kinda like what you said. So Paul says, Well, what do you think if we put this show on the road? Timothy said, Well, I'm good with me. So they started traveling, went from city to city to city, preaching the gospel, preaching the word.

Then they got to this territory where it didn't say and it didn't give the name, but it said they got to a territory and God would not allow them to minister, would not allow them to speak. And, you know how I kind of put everything in how I can visualize it, you know, so as one of the terms that I was raised up and I heard with my sanctified imagination I kinda imagine that to be sort of like a, you know, when you're traveling and you stop for dinner around eight, nine o'clock, and then you get back in the car and then you wake up about 10 or 11, you gotta go to bathroom, gotta go to the bathroom, gotta go, gotta go, gotta gotta go, gotta go. And then you see a sign that says gas station and then you tell your husband or your boyfriend or your sister or whoever you're traveling with, Let's get off right there. Cause they gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go. Well, as you're traveling and you are approaching that gas station, that's just what its, it's a gas station. It doesn't service anything. And normally you say, That's okay. I don't need to go right now. Just get on back on the interstate. Let's go to the next exit.

So that's how I imagined that it was when they got to that territory and God says, Hey, I know I say all the time, I've heard Queen Vee say that God is so ahead of us. So that's in my imagination. That's kind how it was when they travel to that territory. They have been going from city to city to city to city. You know, preaching and declaring the word of the Lord. And they get there to a certain place and God said keep going, there's another city just keep going. So now they get to territory. We know that today as Europe. That's where they meet Lydia in the territory called Europe. It's in a city called Thyatira. So that's where they meet Lydia. So that's how Lydia first got into the picture, you know, So when I say they, you like, Who, who was they?

Who was they Lynn? Well, they was Paul, Paul's brother Silas, Timothy was there and Luke. So all of them, are traveling and they come upon this city and then they meet Lydia. Well Luke automatically spotted Lydia selling her goods. Lydia was selling goods made of purple and back in Thyati ra Goods made of purple was one of the main traits at that time.

And those were made by a tree that is really produced or is you can be found in the Mediterranean area that's called a matter tree. So there were all types of matter trees. So some had purple roots, some had gold roots. Some had roots of a red and deep orange. So that's where all of those deep colors came from.

The color Purple was a symbolic symbol of wealth, prosperity, luxury. So you can find out more about that color purple in Exodus 28, 5 and Ezekiel 27 and 7. Now, when Luke saw Lydia selling her goods, they did not see a husband there with her. So the scholars has written that possibly Lydia's husband was deceased, but that Lydia apparently had children because it's referred to her in the verses that she was of a household meaning that she did have kids and that she apparently took or carried on the trade that her husband started.

Now, Lydia was a worshiper and guys at the end I'm just going put that bow on it, that purple bow on it to tie our stories together. Lydia was a worshiper, however, in the area where Lydia was raised or lived which was in Philippi, they didn't have synagogues. They didn't have churches. So what they actually did, they met on the side of the river, and then that's how they had their Sunday service, and they used the water from the river to bathe themselves or to have their rituals to wash their feet, you know, to just glorify themselves with water.

So now, Lydia, Paul, Silas, Timothy, Luke, they've all met and Lydia and Paul are having side conversations. Side conversations, and man, what's coming forth outta Paul into Lydia. Lydia says, Whoa, whoa; yes, I was a worshiper, but thank you, man of God. Now I even know more about Jesus. I know even more, you know? So Paul's preaching his supernatural gifts was causing her to have more and more conversation. And it says that she immediately asked Paul to baptize her in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, and said not only was Lydia, but she and her entire household, she and her entire household, so she was an influencer over her kids.

Now it stays that after the baptism that Lydia, already knew because of the color purple. That what it represented, you know, in the region, but says that after the baptism, that Lydia invited them all back to her home, and then that goes back to another encounter.

I remember when we were young of age and if we knew the preacher was coming to our grandmother's house, cause everything was at our big mama's house who lived next door to us, you know, But everybody wanted to be at Big Mama's house. So if Pastor was coming to Big Mama's house have dinner on Sunday, we started cleaning up on Thursday. I don't know the pastor never did open little linen closet.

But we gonna straighten up the linen. The Pastor never look between the refrigerator and the stove, but we are cleaning, we are cleaning because the preacher is coming, and cooking was a feast. So Lydia had her stuff together. Because directly after her baptism, she said, Hey, y'all, come on go to our house. She didn't have to send the kids ahead and say, you know go make sure that the house is good and clean and everything, and we got food because that was already a standard for her. Hmm. So the story also say that Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house again.

And we'll talk about that cause they did make a second trip to our house. We're gonna get into that. But again, just four verses and scholars goes on to tell you that Lydia was a very blessed individual and was very generous with her blessings that she more than likely gave Paul and his group. You know, things that they need to continue to do the journey and continue to have food and water for themselves and probably help pay for shelter for them. And the Lydia took care of her guests before they departed and we're almost done.

So I was thinking. What were some of the accomplishments of Lydia in the Bible? Lydia ran a successful business selling of luxury product, such as purple cloth. That was the symbolic symbol of wealth, and she did that more than likely that was a man's business. You know, not a man's business, but you know, a male, but she was able to carry that on.

She was a unique achiever for a woman to do that in a dominating the back in those days. But more importantly, She believed that Christ was the savior and that the baptism, or the baptizing of her entire family was most important because after the baptism, when she went back and she invited all of them to go to her house they, the scholars read or declare that, you know, they still had another church service. So it says that that was probably the first in-home church started at Lydia's home.

Then I said, Well what was some of her strengths? Lydia was intelligent. She was assertive to compete in business. She was generous. She had the gift of hospitality. She opened up her home to ministers, to missionaries, to those that love the Lord. The lessons that we've learned from Lydia, Woo. Lydia shows that God's work group people by opening up their heart, just by opening up to people, just opening up your heart. And as I have said many times, just meeting people where they are.

Okay, this water has kind of gotten in the way of some of my notes here, guys, but we're almost done. What were some of the key verses that I read was that when she and the members of her household was baptized, she invited those men, those powerful men, into her home. She said if you consider me a believer of the Lord, she said, Come stay at my house. They didn't know her from Adam's housecat, but they believed and they saw and they did.

You remember I said that Paul and Silas went back to her house a second time. In Acts 16, verse 40, it says, After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they met with brothers, ancestors they encourage each other. Then they left.

So what does Lynn's story and Lydia's story has to do? What's the bow? Lynn is blessed and Lynn believes in being a, blesser. You need a place to rest, come on, the house is always open whether you need a long term stay, a short term stay, it's raining too hard outside, just come on. But most importantly, Lynn is a believer and she loves the Lord.

That's the story of Lydia. That's the story of me in a nice little boat. It was quick. It was me. It was delivered only the way that I could, and knew how to. Hope you were blessed and God bless you, Betty. God bless you, my sisters. That is Lydia.

Betty 18:37

Queens thank you so much for spending time listening to SheSpeaks Love podcast and being apart of this amazing SisterKeeper community. Our heart is to bring you content that is educational, inspirational, relatable, and it encourages you to share the power of your voice. So you don't miss any of the conversations. We invite you to subscribe to SheSpeaks Love wherever you listen to podcasts. Please like, comment, and share. Follow us on our blog@shespeakslove.com.

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